


New Year's '85

by DragonGirl420



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, New Year's Eve, holiday fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 15:22:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17286566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonGirl420/pseuds/DragonGirl420
Summary: After spending Christmas with Hopper and El, you thought your growing relationship with the Chief was going great, until he shows up late for your New Year’s Eve dinner with a rash of reasons it wouldn’t be good for you to be together. But before the clock strikes twelve, you’re determined to get him to open up tell you why.





	New Year's '85

**Author's Note:**

> This is my submission for @moonstruckhargrove 1K Writing challenge. My prompt was “I’m not going anywhere”. 
> 
> **I should note, this follows Christmas with Hopper & The Waffle Maker. Though I don’t think its 100% necessary to have read that first.**

Since spending Christmas with Hopper and El, you and the Chief had been getting closer. It was slow moving, both of you very tentative in how to approach your growing feelings. Around the station, you both kept things completely professional. Even Finlay, who worked Christmas night, had no idea that you and Hopper were becoming more than colleagues after hours. In fact, only Flo noticed any difference at all.

It was New Year’s Eve and the Hawkins Police Department had been far busier than usual. Finlay and Powell had taken the holiday off, so Officer Callahan and the Chief were the only ones on duty. The drunk and disorderly calls started early in the day, then there were several car accidents after that. As the day drug on, you were certain you’d never get out of there. You were nervously chewing on the end of a pencil when Flo stopped in front of your desk, her glasses hung on by a thread at the end of her nose as she peered down at you with a sly grin.

“Got special plans for tonight?” she asked.

“What? No. Why?”

“You’re watching the clock something fierce today. Far more than usual.”

“Oh, well… I have a roast in the crock pot at home. Just hate to leave that thing going for too long, you know? Fire hazard and all that.”

“Mmhmm,” she mused, her lips pursed in disbelief. “Funny though, Chief was saying  _he_  needed to be back by a certain time tonight, too. I could be totally wrong but, I have to ask, any chance that’s due to you somehow? I see how he looks at you when no one is looking at him.”

Your heart stopped for a moment, and instead of immediately denying it, you hesitated which gave her the answer she already knew. Flo leaned further over your desk and lowered her voice. “Well, I won’t pry, but having a nice girl like you in his life would be a good thing. Can you just do me one favor? Be sure to throw a vegetable into that man’s meal once in a while, would ya? He just blows me off when I voice concern over how he takes care of himself.”

You stifled a laugh while nodding. “I’ll do my best.”

She gave you a sly wink before heading off back to her desk. Shaking your head, you returned to the work in front of you. Transcribing police reports and typing them up had become tedious and you were just ready to go home and get cleaned up for your dinner with the boss.

The phone on your desk started ringing, so you pushed the reports aside and answered. “Hawkins Police Department, how can I assist you today?”

“You can start by telling me are still on for dinner,” the Chief’s voice came through the receiver, low and raspy, making your stomach flip flop like it did every time he walked into the room.

“Yes, that’s affirmative,” you replied, trying desperately not to grin like an idiot.

“Good. Because after this day, I want to put my feet up, eat some hot food I didn’t have to microwave and wrap my arms around—No! Dammit… C’mon Callahan! You gotta… no! You gotta cuff him from behind…” He shouted away from the receiver, then growled in frustration before he was talking to you again. “Jesus Christ. I’ll call you right back, ok?”

“Sure thing,” you chuckled and hung up when the line went dead.

He never did get a chance to call back, which was mildly disappointing, but the rest of the day seemed to fly by thanks to the flood of calls that did come in. Each one described in fantastic and varying detail some sort of light in the sky over the site that used to be Hawkins Lab. They were coming in so fast, one after the other, you didn’t even have a chance to dispatch out to Hopper or Callahan before they came back to the station.

The calls finally calmed down about ten minutes before your shift was over, and right before Hopper and Callahan returned with several additions for the drunk tank in tow.

“Its crazy out there today,” he groaned, shaking off the snow that had started to fall. “How’s it been around here?”

“Busy. I was just about to try and get you on the radio. Calls keep coming in about some lights in the sky. People are losing their minds.”

“Lights? What are you talking about?” he asked, taking the slips of paper with the calls on them from you, letting his fingers linger against yours. It was subtle, but it didn’t go unnoticed by you at all. “Like, fireworks? It is New Year’s Eve. I imagine some dumbass kids will try to light some off somewhere.”

“They said it looked like the clouds were on fire over the Hawkins Lab site,” you said, but stopped after you saw the look that registered on his face.

“What did you say?” he retorted in a voice that barely broke a whisper.

“Its right there on the sheets. The last call in said it looked like the clouds were on fire—”

“Over Hawkins Lab?”

“Mhm.” You waited for Callahan to pass behind the Chief after having dumped the drunks in one of the cells and leaned in a little closer. “What’s wrong? You look like you saw a ghost.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” he mumbled. “I… I’m gonna check this out. Come here for a minute,” he said and lightly took you by the arm, walking you down the hallway towards the rear exit of the station and out of the back door.

The cold air hit you and immediately made you shiver. Without thinking he took off his blue Sherriff’s jacket and draped it over your shoulders. It was quiet, and the snow was falling softly around you, the only light was coming from the old, yellowed bulb burning over the back door.

“I have to go check this out, but I want you to keep it between us, alright? We’ve had… problems in the past with the Lab and, uh, I just don’t want to freak anyone out. Okay?”

“Yeah, sure Chief, whatever you need.”

“Thanks. And I thought we talked about this  _Chief_  crap,” he teased, narrowing his eyes at you.

“We are at work, you never know where there are prying eyes or ears,” you shrugged and thought about Flo spying on you from a window somewhere.

“Well, if there are spies, they are about to get an eyeful,” he teased lowly, and bent down to kiss you lightly on the lips.

Despite the bite in the air, his lips were warm, and you loved how his mustache tickled your face whenever he kissed you.

“You sure that’s a good idea at the station, Chief?”

He rolled his eyes at your use of “Chief” again but bit his lower lip and took both your shoulders in his large, inviting hands.

“I might be late for our dinner,” he said, rubbing your upper arms to dispel the chill.

“That’s ok. Do what you have to. Dinner will keep, I just hope that come midnight…” you trailed off and shrugged, giving him a look of longing to accompany it.

“Come midnight, I was sort of hoping that we’d be doing something else entirely,” he mused and raised a suggestive brow. “But, until then, why don’t you get out of here for the night. I’d rather you be home, safe, before the snow gets bad. El is with Joyce Byers tonight, she’s having some kind of party for the kids, so I’ll come by as soon as I check out these calls, okay?”

“Yeah,” you replied tenderly, “that sounds good to me.”

“Go on, get back inside before you freeze,” he grumbled and directed you back towards the door.

You slipped off his coat and handed it back to him before going back to your desk. “See you before midnight?”

“That is definitely my plan,” he said, and as he put his coat back on, beneath his beard grew the smile of a man who seemed genuinely excited.

“Be careful, please?”

He shook his head slightly at your concern and simply tipped his Sheriff’s hat once before turning to leave.

* * *

 

The pot roast smelled amazing, the potatoes were silky and flavorful, and the handmade biscuits were rising to perfection. It was going to be the best meal you’d ever made, and you were beyond excited to finally have Hopper over at your place for dinner… just the two of you. If he would just get there already. It was getting closer and closer to midnight, and your hopes of a New Year’s Eve date were beginning to fade.

Maybe there had been something going on at the lab site, and he got wrapped up. It had happened before. Sometimes things happened in Hawkins, especially over the last two years and it would be brushed off or explained away, but they were odd happenings; the explanations given for them by the military, even stranger.

Shaking the thoughts away, you didn’t want to start to worry needlessly. You thought of calling the station but calling to randomly ask if the Chief was around may look suspicious, and you didn’t want to stir up any necessary trouble. Pacing the floor, you paused at the phone several times, even picking it up to make sure the dial tone worked.

Nervously chewing on your nails, the clock on your mantel struck eleven, just as a pair of headlights swept across your living room window. Seeing it was the Sheriff’s truck, you sighed in relief and ran to the door to open it. Even through the snow was still falling, you could see him sitting in the front seat; his head bowed, his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel. Finally, he must have felt your eyes on him, because he picked up his head and slowly made his way out of the truck.

“I’m sorry I’m so late, and didn’t call,” he said once he approached, but made no move to come inside. He seemed off; you couldn’t tell if he was upset or nervous, but either way this wasn’t the same guy that kissed you behind the police station a few hours earlier.

“Its okay, are you alright? Was there something going on at the old lab site?”

He shrugged it off and was struggling with what to say.

“Look, I… I can’t stay after all,” he started, then mumbled a swear under his breath. He wouldn’t meet your eyes either, making your stomach flutter, but not in the way it had earlier when he called you. This wasn’t a good feeling at all.

“Come on inside for a minute, its freezing. Warm up by the fire and you can expl—”

“No, I can’t. I can’t stay. There’s just a lot—(Y/N) getting involved with someone from work…” he trailed off. With his thoughts scattered, his expression and body language screaming of frustration, you had no idea what was going on but you were starting to get mad.

“Why? What’s changed over the last few hours?” you asked, trying not to get too upset or spiral into ranting of your own.

“Nothing. Just thinking…”

“Bullshit. What happened, Jim?!” His head snapped up at your use of his first name, his jaw slacked open in surprise. You crossed your arms over your chest and leaned against the open front door, hoping he would just come inside to talk to you. “Please, just… come inside for a minute at least.”

He growled lowly, the internal argument he was having, clearly written all over his face. “Just for a minute.”

Once inside, Hopper removed his coat and laid it over the back of the chair. The room was filled with the smell of the fireplace and dinner warming in the oven. You noticed that he picked up on the scent as his eyes drifted towards the entrance of the kitchen.

“So, what happened? When I saw you at the station, things were fine. What happened out at the lab site?”

“Its not about that,” he said unconvincingly. “There’s just a lot that you don’t know. A lot I don’t necessarily want to dredge up…”

You dropped to the couch and sighed. “Please just tell me. Whatever it is–”

“It’s not that simple, (Y/N). Things are okay now, but before, they were very, very complicated. Very NOT okay. Life had just gotten back to normal right before Christmas. Then, you came along and, I didn’t expect or want that.”

You felt a punch to your gut. What happened between you and the Chief on Christmas had felt special, and the way Hopper had kept pursuing you after made you think it was for him, too. And El; at least so you thought. His sudden change in demeanor towards you made you angry and incredibly sad. It was over before it even got started and you felt it was unfair of him, at least without a reasonable explanation.

“Is this about El?” you asked softly, thinking that it must be; because really, what else  _could_  it be?

He was quiet. “I don’t know how to answer that. It is, and it isn’t. Look, I told you, its complicated. I won’t burden you—”

“Oh, fuck that, Hop! Why can’t you just say what it really is, huh? Something happened, someone else came along, I don’t know what… but whatever it was in the last five hours that went down, just tell me… you changed your mind and don’t like me that way. Fine. But say so! Don’t try and give me the ‘it’s complicated and I won’t burden you’ bullshit!”

“God… dammnit,” he mumbled and sat next to you on the couch. He took off his Sherrif’s hat and toyed with the brim of it, his head hung to his chest.

“What?”

“I wish it were that simple,” he replied. “The problem here, (Y/N), is that I do like you,” he paused and groaned at his choice of words. “Jesus Christ, you spend a few minutes with teenagers and I start to sound like one,” he mumbled to himself before continuing his thought. “I really like spending time with you and so does the kid. What I meant was, I didn’t want someone in my life. I wasn’t looking for it. El, she was enough. Her and I are trying to find our footing together, as a real family. But you surprised me. Christmas, surprised me.”

“So, then what changed? Please, just tell me,” you leaned over and took the hat from him, leaving it to your side on the couch. You grabbed his hands in yours, though they could barely contain his, and squeezed them.

“If I tell you everything, it could put you in danger somehow.” Hopper dared to catch your gaze, and his normally stoic blue eyes were overcome with worry. “I’d never forgive myself.”

“What danger? Please, don’t make me torture you to extract information. Don’t worry about my safety. I am grown woman who has been taking care of herself since she was sixteen. I can handle whatever you have to throw at me.” Letting go of his hand, you brought your fingers to his cheek and softened your smile. “I like you, Jim. I like El. If it really isn’t a matter of how you feel about me, then please… tell me. I promise you, ** _I’m not going anywhere_**.”

He searched your face for any trace of a lie. When he found none, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You got any liquor? Beer? Anything? This is going to require a drink.”

“Yeah, sure.”

After grabbing a couple beers from the fridge, you came back into the living room and found him standing by the fireplace. He was looking at the pictures you kept of your family on the mantle, but never saw in person anymore.

“Here,” you said, holding out one of the bottles.

“Where’s your tree?” he asked absently.

“What?”

“Your tree… Christmas decorations. Did you take them down already?”

“No,” you said and took a swig of your bottle. “I didn’t have any up. Not a huge fan of it, to be honest.”

“But, you brought all that stuff to my house…”

“Its different when you have someone to celebrate with, Hopper.”

He registered the flash of emotion that welled in your eyes and seemed to have a moment of realization. He simply nodded in understanding and slowly walked back to the couch.

“I, uh, had a family once. Married–little girl,” he paused, and looked to you as if he hoped you already knew so he wouldn’t have to go through it again.

“I know…Flo told me when I first started at the station,” you spoke softly and cast your eyes to the ground. “I’m so sorry.”

“Then you can imagine when El came into my life, being a dad again wasn’t exactly on my radar. I got real used to being the lonely, grouchy guy. It was hard, not to be that anymore.”

“Sure, that makes sense.”

He guzzled half the bottle and used his tongue to wipe the bit of suds on his lip. “El, isn’t a normal kid. She’s had one hell of a life before she came to live with me. Her parents, well—” he just shook his head and sighed deeply. “She was treated like a lab rat. Experimented on at that fucking place. She grew up there, locked in a room and put through these awful tests…”

His voice caught in his throat as he tried to describe the experiments they had performed on her. He was being slightly vague, and as you sat and listened, disgusted with the procedures and trials that were performed on this beautiful, sweet kid, you wondered what they were trying to achieve. Though, you didn’t dare ask.

“How did she come to be with you? How did you get her away from that?”

“I didn’t really. She ran away, and I found her. I hid her for a while until things settled down,” he said with a shrug. “There’s more, so much more, but… tonight when I went out to the lab, it all sort of came rushing back. Everything she’d gone through—we’d gone through—to get her away from there, to put a normal life back together…”

He was trailing off, not making sense again. Hopper realized you were getting lost in his ramblings and slammed back the rest of his beer. Without saying another word, he got up and went to the fridge, returning with two more beers. He sat back on the couch, this time close enough that your knees were touching.

Hopper opened his drink and held it up to yours, clinking the bottles together just as the clock chimed half past eleven.

“Nothing happened out there tonight. It was what I thought, just some dumb ass teenagers setting off fireworks. But on the way back I got a call on the radio. Joyce needed me to get to her place, because El was having a bad night. After all this time, she still has bad nights. I went there to get her, make sure she was alright. Something triggered her to panic, and when she panics…” he inhaled deeply and slowly shook his head side to side, “it can get dangerous.”

“Is she alright? Where is she now? If she needs you, go. This can wait.”

A hint of a smile was on his lips has he patted your knee in reassurance but left his hand there; not that you minded.

“She’s alright. Once we talked, she decided she wanted to stay. Joyce knows how to help her, how to calm her down if she needs it.”

“Oh,” you said, feeling a slight pang of jealousy. You knew he was close to Joyce Byers, they’d known each other since high school, but that didn’t stop you from being a little envious of her closeness to the Chief.

“(Y/N), I panicked. Being at the lab again, seeing my kid having a hard time… it got to me. It had been calm enough that I sort of forgot, you know? That the threat was there. That it will always be there.”

“Threat? What threat?” you asked, but he didn’t hear you, he just kept talking, but more to himself than to you.”

“The whole drive over here I couldn’t help but worry what you would think or say if I told you everything, would you even believe me? Hell, I barely believed it. But it happened. Then, if I did, what could it do to your life? I won’t fuck up someone else’s life. Not like this.”

“Hey, relax. I still don’t get how it would be dangerous, or affect my life, Hop. I’m trying to understand, I am, but I just don’t see how—”

“Do you remember Bob Newby?” he asked suddenly.

“Um, yeah. I remember the name. He was a townie, right? Worked at the Radio Shack I think.”

“Yeah, him. I knew him from school; grew up with the guy. He was dating Joyce for a while, before he ended up dead in that lab.”

Your heart stopped for a moment. You didn’t remember hearing anything about his death. “Recently?”

“Recent enough, just past Halloween. The papers won’t report it. Certainly, won’t hear about it on the news,” he lowered his voice as if some unknown ears were listening, “but I was there and saw it with my own two eyes, (Y/N). I watched this man, who was there to help his girlfriend and her kid, get torn apart by these  _things_  that shouldn’t exist.”

Goosebumps broke out across your arms despite the warmth of the fire burning not even ten feet away. The house was suddenly quiet, only the sound of your shaky breath and the crackle of the fireplace could be heard.

“Wh—what?” your throat was dry, not even the beer helping to rectify that. “What did you say?”

“You heard me. God, it’s a long, long story, but what happened at that lab ended in blood. A lot of blood. The military tried to cover it all up. What happened to Will Byers, and, you remember that funeral for Barbara Holland? She was their victim, too.”

“Jesus,” you whispered. “I had no idea. How—how did they get away with all this?”

“They didn’t really. I don’t know, its all still so unsettled to me. But you can see why telling you, puts you in danger. I don’t want that for you. I don’t want to see someone I care about ripped apart or targeted by some shady ass military just because you’re dumb enough to like me.”

He leaned back against the couch and rubbed his free hand over his face. You weren’t getting the entire story, and you thought maybe it wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell you, but couldn’t. El wasn’t the only one who had suffered trauma, Hopper had too, but a man like him would never admit that. He was the strong one, the Police Chief; the guy you go to with the problems, not the guy WITH the problems.

“Look, I can’t pretend to understand everything. What you’ve told me is incredible and terrifying. You and El, you’ve been through something horrific, the Byers family, too. I heard you were there for them during their ordeal while Will was missing. Then to know it was way more than that… no one should have to deal with that alone. I may not have been there, but I can be here for you, now. You just can’t shut me out or try to push me away.”

Hopper’s hand fell away from his face and he turned to look at you. Inhaling deeply, he placed his beer bottle on the table beside him, then took yours from your hand and added it with his. A moment later, he wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you into him.

His embrace felt safe and warm; even with the chill of what he had told you still in your veins, you knew no matter what happened, you’d be safe with him. You felt his lips press against the side of your hair and closed your eyes to revel in the growing magic of his touch.

The clock over the mantle chimed its short alert for a quarter till midnight. “I’ll be so glad when this year is over,” he mused, but you felt him hold you tighter. “I’m sorry that I came here the way I did. I wasn’t sure how you would take any of this. Hell, that’s not even all of it—”

“Jim,” you interrupted and pushed off his chest to sit up straighter on the couch next to him. “Whatever happened, whatever other terrible things happened because of that horrible place, I will listen to and try to process whenever you’re ready to talk about them. But when you want too, doesn’t have to be tonight.”

“You know,” he sat up with a slight groan of weariness, “there’s something about the way you call me Jim… I can’t tell if you want to kiss me or slap me,” he teased.

For the first time that night, you felt a genuine smile grow. “Maybe a bit of both.”

“They’re all in my life now. You get that, right? El, Joyce, Will, even the other kids. What we went through there, that’s never going to leave us.”

“I get that. But do you get that I like you, right? A lot. That day in the market on Christmas Eve when I saw you digging through those waffles… I don’t know, something happened. A flip got switched and I just sorta fell for you. Every day since then I’ve been trying to figure out what was different. What made that day different over any of the others in the few years I’ve known you.”

“Did you ever figure it out?” he asked, an amused grin on his lips and twinkle in his eyes.

“I think so, at least part of it is seeing you with her. Watching and hearing you talk about her, you get this expression on your face that just lights you up. When you were dancing with her on Christmas, spinning her around, I don’t believe I ever enjoyed a moment more in my life than I enjoyed watching that. You’re a special man, Jim Hopper, and I wish you could believe that. I’m not scared of what you told me. I’m only scared you don’t want to at least give this a try. I’m not easily frightened off.”

“That so?” he asked, his demeanor returning more to the Hopper you had gotten to know and not the one that showed up at your house almost an hour ago.

Hopper stood up from the couch and walked over to the radio that sat on top of the television. He scanned the channels until he found a tune he recognized and turned back around. “I Can’t Help Myself” by the Four Tops was playing and Hopper started to dance subtly at first, all the while keeping his gaze on you and a dopy, sort of love-sick smile on his face.

“If this doesn’t scare you away, nothing will,” he teased, then danced your way and grabbed your hand, pulling you off the couch. “Come on, it’s almost midnight and we’ve missed most of our date,” he held out his hand which you happily took and squealed a little as he tugged you into him and holding you tight, so you didn’t fall over.

“Where did you learn moves like that, Hop?”

“Had to figure out someway to impress girls back in the day,” he said with a chuckle.

As he moved you around the room to the song, though you were smiling and laughing with him, you still felt slightly uneasy about how he showed up at your house. What if he would get scared again, but this time it was after you’d really fallen in love with him and with his daughter? You wanted that, you wanted to be apart of their lives and maybe even one day, their family. But the uncertainty and worry clung to you, not allowing you to fully enjoy the moment.

“I’m not some clingy, nervous person, Hopper,” you said unexpectedly. “I’m not someone who needs constant reassurance, normally. I’ve been independent my whole life. When my mother insisted that I get married and start a family instead of having a career, I left home. I never once let my happiness rest on someone else, or in someone else. Understand?”

His eyes narrowed down on you curiously, but he nodded all the same. “I do.”

“Having said that, I have to ask, are you sure I’m what you want? You said you weren’t looking for anyone, you had enough with taking care of El, getting her acclimated to a new life.”

“I wasn’t looking at all. Hell, a new girlfriend wasn’t even on the radar. I hated the idea of coming here to push you away, but its what I scared myself into thinking what was best. I’m glad you called bullshit, that you didn’t give up on me.  _That’s_  what I need in my life. Just so happens it comes from a pretty damn beautiful woman, who, for whatever reason, likes me.”

“Just a little,” you teased, holding up your fingers to show an inch.

The song ended and just as the DJ began talking excitedly about the new year. After a minute or two of the DJ’s incessant babbling, the clock began chiming midnight. On the radio, the countdown begun with the sound of a cheering crowd in the distance. In your living room, Chief Jim Hopper of the Hawkins Police Department, took you in both of his arms and slightly dipped you back as your arms hooked up and around his neck.

“Three, two, one…” he rasped with a cheeky smile. “Happy New Year, (Y/N).”

“Happy New Year, Hop,” you replied and didn’t wait for him to kiss you. Bringing your mouth up to his, you nearly melted against him as he instantly parted your lips and engulfed your tongue with his.

The few times you had kissed him since Christmas, none of them felt like this. He was a surprisingly good kisser, that you knew, but you weren’t really prepared for how sexy he could be doing so, nor how this big, grizzly bear of a man could be so gentle at the same time. Not wanting the moment to end, you let yourself get swept up in him, releasing any fears or inhibitions and allowing the Chief to bear down on you, and claim you as his own.

He walked you back towards the couch, never taking his lips off yours. He turned you around, so he fell to the couch with a thud, pulling you down onto his lap. Leaning you back so your head rested on the throw pillow propped up on the arm of the couch, Hopper hovered over you, his intentions clear through the desire you saw in his eyes. You gazed up at him, silently pleading with him to kiss you again, but he just stared at you intently.

“Stay,” you whispered. “Stay the night with me.”

“What would your neighbors think? The Chief’s truck outside your place, all night long?”

You shrugged. “I don’t care if you don’t.”

“Do I look like a man who gives a shit what most of these yahoos think?”

“Nope,” you smiled and kissed him again.

This time, his hand ran roughly down the length of your body, down to your thigh and squeezing tightly. A low rumble emitted from his chest as he considered your offer to stay. “You sure you want me to? It’s a small town, everyone’s gonna know you’re sleeping with the Chief.”

“They probably already think that. I mean, Flo does.”

“No shit,” he laughed. “No wonder she kept winking at me today. I thought maybe she was getting sweet on me after all this time.”

You couldn’t help but chuckle, then covered his bearded cheek with your hand. “I’m serious. I want you to stay. I still have dinner in the oven, and I would certainly love to cook you breakfast in the morning.”

You pulled yourself up from laying across his lap and grabbed his Sheriff’s hat off the end of the couch, placing it crookedly on your head, tipping it down and giving him your sexiest smile and wink.

“Well, when you put it like that… I think I could stay. Especially if you promise to wear the hat later. Looks damn good on you.”

“Deal. So, that’s a yes?” you asked, just to be sure, so your hopes wouldn’t be dashed again.

“I’d be stupid not too. You sure that you’re ready for all of this,” he motioned vaguely at himself and into the air. “Its gonna come with baggage, late nights, sporadically missed dinners, and a very unique and occasionally moody almost teenage girl. Not to mention, being the Chief’s girlfriend will most likely catch you some grief in town. Those old timers like to talk.”

“Your girlfriend?” your heart started to pound, and your desire to get closer to him as maddening. “Is that what I am now?”

“If you can forget everything I said when I showed up here, yeah. I think I’d like that a lot.” He wrapped his arms tightly around your waist, his fingers pulled up the back of your shirt and rested them on your skin. “Nice way to start off the New Year. And the kid, she’ll be really happy.”

“Will she?” you asked, feeling hopeful that you could become a good friend to his daughter.

“When I stopped at Joyce’s tonight, she asked if I was supposed to see the waffle maker. When I told her yeah, that’s when she decided she wanted to stay at the party. She didn’t want me to miss our date.”

“I might cry,” you chuckled, and swiped at the few stray tears that fell.

“It’s partially what freaked me out. She’s already so attached to you, and honestly, so am I.”

“The feeling’s mutual, for both of you.”

Hopper gripped you tightly and lifted you with him when he stood up from the couch. He picked you up and slung you over his should, making you break out into a fit of laughter.

“What are you doing?!” you squealed and playfully smacked his back to put you down.

“Taking my new girlfriend to bed, that’s what,” he growled and playfully smacked your ass. “It’s a brand-new year, gonna kick 1985 off the right way!”

As he carried you off down the hallway and to your bedroom, neither of you heard the walkie talkie come to life in the pocket of the coat he had left in the living room. The static blared for a second before Callahan’s voice broke through muffled and excited.

“Chief! Chief! You there? I got something you might wanna see!”


End file.
